[pinholecam]

This is really what I want the most through the eye piece experience, zoom. It doesn't sound like its possible with OVF technology?? (maybe i'm wrong about that) so for me it feels like EVF is the future in some way or another (for all cameras). They MUST provide zooming through the eye piece to remain competitive I think (long term as we progress through technology).

All the times I have used Live View for focus, its so I can zoom in and fine tune. Even after replacing the focus screen and have gained better focus feedback, if I am still trying for critical focus (something like f1.8 with the FA77) and the thing I am isolating the focus on is farish away, then its still luck with the OVF. However, if that thing is fairly close for focus then the OVF is enough, so for me distance is quite an important factor in all of this when discussing focusing options. For me nothing trumps zoom, its what lets you get the best focus feedback of all, and it wouldn't matter if it was OVF zooming in or EVF, just sometimes I need to zoom in, all the times I resort to using LV for focus its because of zoom requirements.

I really wish Pentax release a K-02, a successor to their K-01. We know that they can do mirrorless, we know that they can do mirrorless with the K Mount... would be amazing. I would be happy to have a retro Pentax camera body, no rear LCD, just an EVF instead and mirrorless around the 20mp mark, would be fun!
I would really have bought a K-01 by now if the experience wasn't the same as just shooting my KP or K-1 via LV all the time, but alas it kinda is.

Yes, exactly my thoughts when I moved from the Canon 5D with EES screen to the A7.
The A7 gave me that bit more to better the EES screen in terms of manual focusing.
I have used the Pentax magnifying eyepiece as well as 3rd party one which had more magnification.
The trade-off with them is tunnel vision as we loose periphery vision as the magnification gets higher.
The quality of the eyepiece optics also becomes very important as the magnification gets higher.

I'd take a retro looking K1-MILC that's the size of my MZ-5n (even w/o IBIS) at an instant!

Thanks for the info, guys. I've been around the horn with photography equipment over the past couple decades. I've used a Sony NEX for a year or two and was very impressed with the EVF when used with manual Pentax lenses even then. For some reason, I used the rear screen as a waist level finder with the Sony a lot more than I've used the K-1's screen as a waist level finder, although the increased versatility of the K-1's screen is a bonus. At any rate, I'm finding the K-1 getting in the way with manual lenses moreso than the NEX ever did, this after 3 years of using the K-1. I've been progressively frustrated with MF accuracy with my K-1s lately, to the point where I'm starting to lose my mojo for photography altogether. Thanks for your detailed information again!

I was in this same situation (and so was my brother who also shoots Pentax and his hit rather was much worse than mine)
We have a lot of Pentax manual lenses and not being able to get high enough hit rate on those fast lenses really was a bit of a letdown.

My take is not to get frustrated because that eventually leads to a "Pentax is a loser and I'm moving to the next latest and greatest" type of move that I have seen so many of over the years on this forum.
Instead, just add that A7 as a "manual digital back" for the Pentax lenses and get to appreciate the Pentax lenses even more.

Well, for me I just regret not swapping the focus screen out of my K-1 earlier, I am definitely more content. But it was a $175 swap! Not really the cheapest mod, whether those funds are best put towards another camera with a great EVF experience I cannot say.

Indeed. I can tell you that my experiences are exactly the same.
When I moved to the EES screen, it was like... "wow! " Day and night difference between it and the other screens I had used before.
I highly recommend this focusing screen to those who can't stand EVF, because its the best aid for MF for the DSLR

[BruceBanner]

You bought the S-type correct? I've seen two comments about it darkening the eyepiece significantly and mismetering at smaller apertures. One said it bothered him so much he ended up reinstalling the original.

Like you I'm finding a few issues in certain situations precisely focusing with manual lenses which is primarily what I've used all week. I have Katzeyes in both of my K-70's and would seriously consider Focusing Screens for my K1. What are you finding with your auto-focusing slower lenses and or small apertures? If looks as tho they may have a couple of screens less likely to affect metering?

Correct, Matte S Type.

Um metering, yeah maybe a little screwy, but then I quite often under expose a lot of shots -0.7-1ev, this might work for f1.8 shots and results in a pleasing exposure, however at f4-5 you might need to go to -0.3 or something (to get a similar exposure), that at least is what I have been seeing. But I shoot RAW and so I don't overly fuss over -0.3-0.7 EV variances between images (and I do events where syncing images is important!), because in PP I cam pull the exposures together in line. Really, not a huge difference in the grand photography experience if I have a shot taken with -0.3 and one at -1.0, I can make either shot look like one another in PP, so I don't get put off by that aspect.

Darkening eye piece is a thing, and it can make shooting with a CPL even harder. Currently I am working on a book and using the Takumar 50, and so it gets darker the more I stop down, and even shooting f2.8 and loading a CPL when down in a dimly lit forest can be hard to see what's going on. But you know... I still prefer this experience to going back to the regular 'bright screen'. The stock screen just feels way too flukey to getting a shot in focus properly.

Perhaps this illustration helps make my point?



When I use the stock screen, it feels like the green hex focus confirmation is triggered for a longer duration during the turning of the focus ring (from near to far or far to near) than the Canon S Type. This made it really hard to gauge focus, and throughout this period of adjusting the focus ring, nor did things often look like they were changing 'that much', so to find that peak focus point was a gamble.

With the Canon S Type, it feels like its triggered less and comes on when really it has found focus and quite often near or at peak focus. Things just 'pop out' of the scene a little more than the stock screen and this helps with the confirmation and confidence of the shot. It feels quicker as well, and even if the shot is still off it was a quicker shot to take in the first place, because with the stock screen I could be frustrated for ages and with no confirmation to really help if the focus is off from one shot to the next. Just too much relying on luck.

This really depends on the lens tho, I mean the DFA 100 is very slight when focusing, a small amount of turning the ring and you're away from your focus point. The Samyang 85 however, you felt as though you could turn that focus ring for an eternity and not really see a huge difference through the OVF...

Also, you have to remember that with some AF fast lenses, the dark/dim screen aspect doesn't matter, because for example I can have my FA77 on my K-1, and set it to f5.6 and its still showing me a DoF at 1.8 to help nail focus correctly (which is actually great because sometimes stopping down and its gone too far and its harder to tell where the peak focus is as the DoF is rendered kinda deeper). Of course if you activate the Optical Preview via the slider on the On/Off switch it will show you the DoF for f5.6 and in doing so a vastly darker screen/image, but yeah I did think it merited mentioning.

I have a 55-300PLM that I use on the K-1 with the Canon S Type, and its a dim experience because its widest aperture is 4.5 or something, I still manage ok, but yeah, it could be a good idea to not swap if all your glass is slow. My m42 mount glass gets darker the more you stop down, but yeah, lenses like the FA Ltds its actually a great swap for and really helps I feel. It could be that the 70-200/2.8 is a much better shooting experience because its still semi fast at 2.8, and so even if you shoot at f4 its a 'brighter experience' than shooting with the DFA 70-210 for example and may lead to a better shooting experience.

...and I guess maybe if someone could address the use of split-screens, also available from focusingscreens.com. These allow for better accuracy compared to the S-type, correct? Do they complete fubar metering? Is there significant improvement with the various screen types, or should I just bite it and invest in a Z6 or A7, or should I just give up entirely and find a different hobby?

Yeah I'd like to know about the split screen stuff, would be nice to know. It might be that one day I convert this old K-1 (once there is a K-2 ) into a manual focusing machine and go one step further beyond the Matte type.

[Topsy]

Are there, technically, katzeye screens that would fit in the K1? (that I might find somewhere unused/secondhand.. wishful thinking)

I love the one in my K50, but I had to wait a while (last batch) and it arrived two months before my K1 back then, so never got much use..The brightness of it is phenomenal though and I would want a 'lesser' one... But I'd really love to focus through the OVF again,